The man with the hawk-like eyes was startled when he heard what Yun Zhonghe said. His gaze sharpened as he asked, "Are you not afraid of death?"
"The thought of death terrifies me," Yun Zhonghe answered.
The man then said, "Then why are you so keenly looking for trouble?"
Yun Zhonghe froze for a moment. He found it rather strange too. He wanted to live very much, but he had taunted the man who would determine his fate.
It was crystal clear that the hawk-eyed man in front of him could kill a man without blinking an eye. His hands must have been stained by the blood of countless people. Killing Yun Zhonghe right now would be as easy as crushing an ant.
He should have been trembling with fear at such a juncture of life and death, yet he could not help but try to be funny. Yun Zhonghe had never acted like this before. He had been the director of a psychiatric hospital, but now he was acting insane, like one of his own patients.
Yun Zhonghe immediately shrugged and said, "Well, I'm a funny guy."
The man ignored that and continued. "Thirty-nine people were decapitated today, and you should have been one of them. Instead, you were spared. Do you know why?"
Yun Zhonghe thought for a moment and answered, "Because I am good-looking?"
The man took a mirror and put it on the table so that Yun Zhonghe could see his own face clearly.
He was right; he was indeed good-looking. The face that looked back at him in the mirror's reflection was almost identical to what he had looked like on earth. He looked even more gorgeous with long hair and clothing of an ancient style.
There were still some differences. The color of his eyes had changed, and his face was a slightly different shape than it had been.
It was hard to describe the Yun Zhonghe in this world. How should he put it? His handsomeness was unparalleled, but he didn't give off the vibe of a good person. He looked like a pervert from every angle. His face would be perfectly suited for the antagonist in a movie or TV series; his features were way too lascivious and wicked.
What was the logic behind all of this? Why would the Yun Zhonghe in this world have the same name and appearance as the one on earth?
The man asked again, "Do you know who I am?"
Yun Zhonghe answered, "Embroidered Uniform Guard? Eastern Depot?"
"The Order of the Black Dragon!" the man revealed.
Yun Zhonghe realized that he didn't have many memories about this world. He didn't know anything about the original owner of this body, including the man's name, his past, or why he was on death row.
The Order of the Black Dragon served the Great Ying Empire as the most powerful intelligence agency ever recorded in history. They were the emperor's loftiest hawks and hounds. Once the Order of the Black Dragon sprang into action, the whole world was put on edge.
Rumor had it that once, a government official grumbled to his wife in bed. Within an hour, his complaint had been noted in a confidential report and submitted to the palace.
In this world, there was no task that the Order of the Black Dragon could not complete, no man whom they could not kill. Once you became the target of the order, even if you ran off to the world's end, you were doomed.
"We are His Imperial Majesty's hawks and hounds, the world's most powerful organization," the man explained. "When the order's chief moves his finger, someone tens of thousands of miles away will lose his head. When he moves his hand, a monarchy on the other side of the world is overthrown."
At this point, Yun Zhonghe concluded that the Order of the Black Dragon was far more powerful than the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the Eastern Depot had ever been. From the way the hawk-like man described it, the order was more professional and skilled than the CIA and KGB put together.
Speaking slowly and methodically, the man said, "You were supposed to be beheaded. You only live now because I have chosen you. I want you to join the Order of the Black Dragon, and become a secret agent who serves the empire."
A secret agent of the Order of the Black Dragon? Like some Imperial Agent 007, who had a license to kill? Or perhaps, the Imperial Stool Pigeon 008?
"Yes, you are right, I chose you because of your good looks. You have a face so pretty that it makes people jealous enough to want to destroy it," said the Black Dragon officer. "And currently, there is an undercover mission that requires an exceptionally good-looking guy."
"No problem, I'll go!" Yun Zhonghe said. "Who am I gonna seduce?"
The officer answered grimly, "A She-Devil who slaughters without batting an eyelid. She is intangibly beautiful, skilled at kungfu, and very powerful. She is so influential in her domain that her words are treated as the law."
Yun Zhonghe grew curious. "As the greatest intelligence agency in the empire, the Order of the Black Dragon should possess many masters of death and subterfuge. It wouldn't be too hard for you to kill the She-Devil directly, would it?"
"We do not want to kill her," the officer corrected him. "We want to conquer her, and subsequently conquer her organization. Then, we will integrate it into the empire."
"What is her organization, exactly?" Yun Zhonghe asked.
"The City of Torn Gust!" said the officer of the Order of the Black Dragon.
The City of Torn Gust?! Where was that? What power did it possess?
Poor Yun Zhonghe had none of the memories of the body he inhabited, so this world was unknown to him.
Naturally, he didn't know what kind of place the City of Torn Gust was.
"The Valley of Torn Gust covers an area of 13,000 square kilometers. It has a population of 400,000 people, and it is divided into nine territories and a capital city. The influence of the valley is of great importance to the empire." The officer continued, "It is an important strategic location for the empire in the Land of No King. It directly affects the future Battle of the South and the North and, thus, the conquest of the vast terrain to the South of the River Tian."
Yun Zhonghe racked his brain, trying very hard to find the memories of his body's original owner. Finally, bits and pieces began to rise to the surface of his mind.
As the saying went, "Fragments are bound to unite after a long time; a unity is bound to break up after a long time." This world was right in the middle of the most chaotic and turbulent epoch of a great struggle.
Six kingdoms were striving for supremacy, rivaling each other to become the Lord Paramount of the world. Whatever ruler could conquer and unite the other kingdoms would put an end to the thousands of years of chaos, become the Lord Paramount, and be crowned with eternal glory. He would be the True Dragon and the Son of Heaven who was sovereign in the vast territory.
Yun Zhonghe was currently in the Great Ying Empire, which was expanding its forces rapidly. It rose from a third-class nation to a first-class empire in just a hundred years, like a rising sun shining forth with all its strength.
The Land of No King, as its name implied, did not fall under any country's control. It was located at the juncture of three powerful kingdoms, and it had been used as a strategic buffer zone for hundreds of years.
Many military strategists had said, "Whoever conquers the Land of No King will take an important step toward winning the great war to conquer the world."
Therefore, the three most powerful kingdoms, the Great Ying Empire, the Southern Zhou Empire, and the Great Liang Kingdom, were all slavering after the Land of No King. However, they held back from taking action for fear of the power behind the Land of No King. They did not dare to simply dispatch an army to seize it.
That was why they needed the skills of secret agents who could infiltrate the Land of No King and make subtle preparations for the wars to come.
The Land of No King stretched for over 1000 kilometers and covered an area of 500,000 square kilometers. It had a population of ten million and more than ten barons, big and small.
The City of Torn Gust was controlled by one of the biggest and most influential barons.
The Jing Clan had ruled the Valley of Torn Gust for over two hundred years, although they did lose their sovereignty for some time. The family had reclaimed their rights a few decades back.
The current castellan of the City of Torn Gust was Jing Zhongyue, the only baroness in the Land of No King. She was nicknamed the She-Devil, and she was commonly said to be the most beautiful woman in the Land of No King.
The Great Ying Empire's Order of the Black Dragon planned to subjugate the baroness and then gain control of the City of Torn Gust. Yun Zhonghe, due to his one of a kind gorgeous appearance, was chosen by the Order of the Black Dragon to carry out that extremely arduous mission.
The officer of the order asked, "Yun Zhonghe, what is your dream?"
Yun Zhonghe froze at the question. He was also called Yun Zhonghe in this world? What kind of coincidence was that?
"I don't have dreams; I only have goals," said Yun Zhonghe.
"Tell me about them," the officer commanded.
Yun Zhonghe answered, "Power, money, and beautiful women."
The officer sneered. "That's low and unbearably vulgar. But… I like it. Under the reign of our wise and mighty emperor, the Great Ying Empire is now expanding expeditiously. His Majesty will become the overlord of this continent within twenty years, and the Order of the Black Dragon will be the most powerful force in the world. When the time comes, vast territories will fall into our hands, and people will bow before us wherever we go. Power, money, and women will be within easy reach."
"Let's talk about the future later," Yun Zhonghe said. "All I want now is to stay alive. If I understand correctly, the undercover mission in the City of Torn Gust is going to be a close shave, isn't it?"
"No…" the officer said, "that is an understatement! But, Yun Zhonghe, you are a scumbag. You have been an orphan since you were a kid, and you were raised by a ruffian-beggar in the beggars' sect. You became a sex worker in a brothel when you grew up. You served rich women specifically, and then seduced innocent girls on the street to have sex with you before you swindled them out of their money. You are more contemptible than the bugs in the sewer."